The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of clamping claw or clamp for seizing and holding and/or manipulating different products or articles, hereinafter simply referred to as products, by means of clamping jaws which, when the clamp is closed, form a clamp or clamping gap. The invention also is concerned with product handling equipment provided with such clamps.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of a clamp or clamping claw for the handling of products in a safe, reliable and positive manner.
Another and more specific object of the present invention relates to an improved construction of a clamp having a novel coaction of the clamp with the handled product or products, especially printed products so as to afford protective handling and manipulation of such products.
Still a further object of this invention relates to improved equipment for the handling of products, such as printed products arriving in a fish-scale or overlapping staggered formation, such as newspapers, periodicals and the like, wherein such equipment is provided with a plurality of clamps for the safe, reliable and positive engagement and manipulation of the printed products.
Now in order to implement these and still further objects of the invention, which will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, the invention is concerned with a new and improved construction of a clamp wherein the clamping jaws when assuming their open position move away from one another in the extension of the clamping gap and towards one another in their closing position.
During operation of the clamp of this development, the product to be seized is introduced into the opened clamp mouth and the clamp and/or the product first thereafter is rotated into a position corresponding to the desired position of the clamping gap or a position of the clamping gap determined by the shape of the product by and/or during the movement of the clamp jaws into their closed position.
By virtue of the previously mentioned constructional and functional aspects of the clamp of this development, there are realized advantageous features which considerably exceed those prevailing with conventional fields of use of prior art clamp constructions.